Conflict: Desert Storm

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A game only Dubya could love? Well, that's a bit harsh.

By David Smith

Looking at it one way, Conflict: Desert Storm is a rather timely release. It revisits the Gulf War of the early '90s at a time when our nation's leadership seems bent on doing the same, sending the player on small squad-based missions behind the lines in Iraq. Looking at it another way, it comes at an unlucky time for its creators, given that it is following Sony's SOCOM to market.

SOCOM is not a game that I found to be without its problems, but more or less everything Conflict does, SOCOM does a fair bit better, and the matter of online multiplayer gameplay widens the gap all that much more. This isn't a bad game, but it's hard to recommend as a purchase given the timing. While Conflict has its setting and some unique presentation elements going for it, even its confinement to a single theater could be just as easily viewed as a hindrance.

Gameplay This is a team-based military shooter, with most of its missions sending a fireteam of four around to shoot things, blow things up, create mayhem, and otherwise do all that stuff that is great fun when nothing more than pixels actually dies. It is realistic in intent, if not necessarily always in execution. There are some funny inconsistencies along those lines -- for example, it reckons ammunition in clips rather than rounds, which I very much like (since you lose the rounds in the stub end of a near-empty clip you throw away), but it also features almost supernaturally efficacious medical kits, capable of erasing near-fatal gunshot wounds in a matter of seconds. For the most part, it sticks to the Red Storm mold, however, and death can come very quickly to the careless.

Both third- and first-person perspectives are available at any time, with the former offering a well-behaved auto-aim function and the later providing more exact control over the crosshairs. The aiming controls in either perspective are precise enough, although the limitations imposed by terrain and different character stances don't seem quite consistent. When crouched or prone in certain positions, the game seems to flip-flop on the question of whether or not you're allowed to move your arms and weapon in a particular direction, resulting in confused fumbling with the movement controls trying to find a more suitable position.

The level design makes one bad mistake right off, giving players a solo mission to begin with. The idea, I suppose, was to gradually introduce the team control mechanics -- halfway through, you get a sidekick, thus teaching you how to command teammates slowly -- but that's a poor decision for a couple of reasons. The dynamics of commanding one character as opposed to four are entirely different, so the player is immediately picking up habits and tendencies that run contrary to how the game is supposed to be played later on. It's also simply deuced hard to complete the mission alone, and never mind that the SAS would never send a single man on a hostage rescue mission against dozens of foes and hardened targets in broad daylight...

After that, of course, the style settles down a bit and the mission designs become more intelligent. At that point, however, other difficulties with the interface reveal themselves. The team command and control mechanics are not a big problem, since your squadmates are not entirely AI-driven -- it's possible to swap between team members with the D-pad and directly control the team in the way that SOCOM doesn't allow. Inventory control is another matter, though. In every control configuration, you must hold down a button to bring up the menu and toggle through a fairly long list of equipment with the analog stick to find what you want. When you need a medkit now, or a LAW rocket to take down the tank that's drawing uncomfortably close, it's more than a little annoying to have to flip through the knife and the binoculars and the silly night-vision goggles you brought along, never mind that it isn't nighttime. There's only one active inventory slot, no quick commands for swapping through equipment with a single button press, and no separation between weapons and ancillary equipment. Changing all of those features would have made for a more convenient and streamlined inventory system.

The more expansive, open spaces in Conflict mean that most shortcomings with its AI behavior aren't necessarily thrown into sharp relief. If the enemy soldiers aren't forced to do anything particularly smart, it doesn't really matter how smart they are. It's clear, though, that some of them could use a wake-up call. A fellow guarding a tent, for example, should not be staring at a canyon wall after I just wasted three of his associates fifteen meters behind him. Last I checked, the sound of a .223 round carried that far.